Cooling system



Jan. 5, 1960 F. c. KOCH COOLING SYSTEM Filed Sept. 20, 1956 T E 4 z a w w 4 TM/ a Z 0 Q. m m x i M a a a B u i J/ ,i w W n 2 m r T 2 .53; 2 M M 4 M Z 2 i 4%, 1 I! wad %5 United States Patent" 6 Claims. c1. 62-305 This inventiontrelates to an improved. cooling systerm which is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with home air-conditioning units and similar type refrigeration units and is a continuation in part of my copendingapplication Serial No. 544,283, filed November 1,1955, 7

' In the-latter copending application a cooling tower of novel; design was, described and illustrated for use in conjunction with a heat exchanger whereby warm'refrigerantutilizedin a,home air-conditioning or similar cool ing system was cooled. In accordance with the invention hereinafter to be disclosed, the cooling tower previously-described in my copendingapplication will be utilized so as'to effect direct, more efiicientcooling' of Warm refrigerant utilized in the above mentioned systems,

It is janobject, therefore, of'th'is invention to provide a-: cooling-system particularly adapted for use in conjunction withthe air-conditioning of homes which insures optimum cooling efficiency.

It'is a-furth'er object of'thisinvention to provide a coolingvsystem which isextremely simple in-details of constructionand inexpensive to manufacture and operate.

Ita-isa still further object of'this invention to provide a cooling system forhome air-conditioning plants orthe like in which the capacity may be increased'and finely regulated'byutilization of mechanical meansif s desired.

The above and other objects of this invention will become more apparent from the following description, ac-

companying drawing and appended claims;

In one embodiment of the co'oling'system to be dis- 7 closed, atower or enclosuresimilar to that described in my copen-ding applicationfiledNovember-l, 1955, is utilized. The latter tower comprises an enclosure having an upper end limit open to the-atmosphere. A plurality of sprays in communication with a source of water, which is to be sprayed down into the tower. and cooled,

is disposed across a cross-sectional'area of the enclosure The sprayed? waterin the course of descending creates a downward or-towenadjacent the open end thereof.

draft, which pulls in air through the tower open end, and concomitantly rapidly cools the sprayed wateras a result of the evaporation taking-place. Disposed-about forming a peripheral portion thereof is a water-de-entrain- Disposed in the empty tower orenclosurebetween the overlying sprays and the underlying basin is alcoil mema b'er throughwhichgwarm refrigerant used in a'home airggmditioning system or similar installation flows. The

refrigerant is obviously'cooled in the course of its passage through the coil disposed in the tower. Being disposed between the sprays and the basin, the refrigerantcoil is :in the path of the sprayed water being cooled. In addi tion,.the wet coils are also in the direct path of the air currents flowing through the tower from the open end through the de-entraining section. The combination of the air movement and water evaporation on the coil surface. enables efiicient cooling of the warm refrigerant contained in the coil to be effected.

In a modified cooling system a coil member, through which warm refrigerant flows, may be disposed completely in the basin portion of the tower and is sub' merged in the sprayed liquid which has collected therein, as will hereinafter be explained in greater detail.

If greater cooling effect is desired in either of the above described systems, a mechanical means such asa fan maybe disposed adjacent the entrance to the tower whereby air will be forced to enter the same and flow downwardly in greater volume than when the sprays alone-are utilized for purposes of creating a draft'in the tower. I

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference shouldnow be had to the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a cooling syse-m=constructed in accordance with the principles of vthis invention;

' Fig: 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a modified form of cooling coil;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view' of the cooling coil.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a second modifiedform of cooling coil, and

Fig.- 6 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view of a modified cooling system.

Referring now'more patricularly to Fig. 1, a cooling tower-10 is illustrated comprising an. upper shellor enclosure portion 12 which is disposed above a bottom portion 14 which functions as a basin or reservoir for the recirculating water which efiects. the cooling in the.

system. Disposed between the latter two tower portions is a peripheral water-de-entraining. section 16 which.

abutsfat opposed end limits againsta flange 18, defining the lower end limit of the upper tower portion 12, and

I the upper end limit of the basin portion .14 of the tower.

'It'will be noted that the latter upper end limit of the. basin isformed was to define .a trough Ztlufor purposes of collecting any condensate which may form on the .de-- entraining section in the cooling process, which will hereinafter be described.

The water-de-entraining section 16, ,WhiCh .is disposed about the entire circumference. of thetower andforms a. portion thereof, islreadily air permeable but prevents the escape of fine water spray tothe exterior of the tower.

Consequently, water loss is reducedto a minimum.- The de-entraining section comprises amaterial of low strength I the tower adjacent the lower end limit'th'ereof and such. as glass -wool, and'obviously re-enforcing means such as steelrods must be maintainedbetween the flange portion 18' and the troughportion 20 0f the tower.

Disposed, acrossthetower cross section adjacent the upper end limit thereof is a plurality of spray members. 22; more. clearly seen. in 'Fig. .2. The-latter spray;mem-.- bets comprisethe means whereby the ,water-to be cooled; is atomized or brokeninto fine particles for. purposes of contacting thejairand becoming cooled by the sameas: a result ofevaporation. 'ltisgof course, apparent :that toaenable the latter coolingtotake-place, the air with: Whichthesprayed.liquid comes incontact must have: a..

wet.,bulb, temperature .-which islower than the tempera;

tureof .thesliquid; the greater the temperature :difie'reu-r tial the greater the cooling effect. In addition, if the unsaturated air with which the sprayed water comes in contact has a lower temperature than the water, the water is also cooled by the transfer of sensible heat to the air. i

The water which is to be cooled, and in turn cool warm refrigerant, emerges from the sprays 22 and is broken up into fine particles. The liquid is immediately cooled by evaporation as a result of contact with the air which is continually drawn into the open end of the tower as a result of the draft created by the sprayed water. The downward descent of the sprayed water is sufficient in itself to induce a draft which adequately cools the warm water sprayed through the members 22; no fan or equivalent means is needed. The savings to be realized from such a system in which the need for fan or other mechanical means is dispensed with are believed apparent.

It has been found that the included angle of the water spray emerging from each nozzle or opening in the sprays 22 is of great importance. If the angle is too wide the spray will not entrain sufficient air for cooling purposes. The cooling capacity of the tower will then be substantially less than if water sprays of proper included angle are produced by the spray openings or nozzle members. The preferred included angle of the water sprays emerging from the spray nozzles is approximately between 4050 degrees; the included angle should preferably not exceed approximately 75 degrees.

It is apparent from Fig. 1 that the interior chamber 24 of the tower is void of any packing commonly used in towers of this type, thereby enabling the air to rapidly flow from the inlet through the water-de-entraining section 16 and thence to the exterior of the tower. The water being sprayed, of course, descends to the underlying basin 14, where it is collected, enters conduit 26, and is forced by pump member 28 through conduit 30 to once again be sprayed through the spray members 22. To make up for any water loss which may occur in the normal course from the water cooling operation, an inlet pipe 32 is in communication with the basin chamber and has a valved end limit 34 which is regulated by a float member 36. If the level in the basin drops below a certain minimum the float-controlled valve 34 will open, allowing water from a source (not shown) to enter the basin by means of the conduit 32.

As previously mentioned, it is an object of this invention to provide an efiicient system for cooling the refrigerant utilized in small cooling installations such as a home air-conditioning plant. Although the latter use is a system with which the illustrated apparatus could obviously be employed, it should be understood that this invention is not limited thereto Disposed in the tower chamber 24 adjacent the water-de-entraining section 16 is a coil 38 which communicates with apparatus not shown, employed in an air-conditioning unit or other device utilizing a circulating refrigerant. The upper and lower end limits of the coil 38 are formed integrally with inlet and outlet conduits 40 and 42, each of which is valved. Valve members 44 disposed in each conduit enable the rate of refrigerant flow to be regulated.

The manner in which the circulatingrefrigerant passing through the coil 38 is cooled is believed apparent. The spraying water emerging from the sprays 22 pulls in air, creating a draft in the tower chamber 24, and concomitantly is cooled in the course of its downward passage. The coil member 38 is in the direct path of the spraying water and is wetted thereby. The continual flow'of air through the tower of the de-entraining section 16 evaporates the water film on the surface of the coil 38. Consequently the warm refrigerant entering the coil 38 through the inlet 40 is continuously being cooled in the course of its passage through the convolutions of the coil 38. Upon emerging from the tower chamber 24 through the coil outlet 42 the refrigerant will be at a lower temperame, having lost a portion of its heat content to the water and air flowing in the tower, and is once again ready for use in a refrigeration system (not shown).

The specific configuration of the coil member employed in the cooling tower chamber 24 is not critical. It is obvious, however, that the coil should be designed so as to give maximum cooling efficiency. It may be desirable, for instance, to employ a coil having a slightly conical configuration, such as is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Such a coil 40, by virtue of its conical configuration, enables the downwardly spraying water to directly contact substantially the entire surface area thereof during the spraying operation. It will be noted in Fig. 1 that the convolutions of the uniformly cylindrical coil 38 are disposed in substantially vertical alignment whereby the lower coils may be prevented from contacting the spraying water directly by means of the overlying convolutions.

A second modified coil which may be employed is illustrated in Fig. 5. Such a coil would be utilized with a tower having a square or other rectilinear cross-sectional configuration. Despite the coil configuration utilized it is apparent that they should all preferably be disposed as far as possible from the sprays 22. By virtue of the latter disposition, the downwardly flowing water emerging through the sprays will contact the coil surface only after traversing a maximum tower distance in the course of which it is continually being cooled. In addition, all coils should preferably be composed of thin gauge materials having high thermal conductivity.

Referring to Fig. 6, a modified coil-cooling tower arrangement is illustrated in which a coil 38a through which warm refrigerant flows is disposed in a basin portion 14a of a tower 10a which is fragmentarily shown. The tower 10a of Fig. 6 is precisely the same as that illustrated in Fig. 1, with the exception that the basin portion 14a thereof may have a greater height to enable coil 38a to be completely submerged in the cool water which has collected in the basin. The coil 38a, similarly to coil 38 of Fig. 1, is in communication with a system (not shown) utilizing refrigerant. Employing the coil disposition of Fig. 6 in a cooling tower, there is no obstruction to oppose the flow of air from the tower open end through a de-entraining peripheral portion 16a. The resistance offered to the air flow in tower 10a is thus less than that present in the tower 10 of Figs. 1 and 2. In both of the illustrated systems the warm refrigerant coils are contacted by the cooling water when the latter water has its greatest cooling capacity.

In some instances fine regulation of the cooling tower or an increase of the tower capacity may be desired. Such regulation and increase may be effected by an assembly comprising an annular tower member 56 dieclosed in Fig. l in dotted lines which is mounted atop the upper flanged end limit 57 of the upper tower portion 12. Supported by the upper end limit of the annular tower section 56 is a platform member 58 on which is disposed a fan member 60 driven by a motor member 62. This assembly performs the function of mechanically forcing air into the open end of the tower 10. Obviously by utilizing a fan the speed of which may be controlled,'

another direct control is had over the cooling capacity of the tower. The fan 60 and related parts may also,

of course, be used in conjunction with tower 10a, fragmentarily shown in Fig. 6.

It is believed apparent from the foregoing that cooling systems have been provided which, although simple in details of design, possess unusual efficiency which is unknown in the art. The tower constructions provided possess no packing or other water distributing means, enabling the cooling air and water to flow therethrough with a minimum of resistance. As a result of the latter flow, tower efiiciency is greatly increased. The illustrated systems require no mechanical means to assist the flow of air. As above explained, cooling efficiency resulting from the direct contact between the coil member containing the warm refrigerant and the cooling air and water is a notable advance in the art.

Certain modifications of the specific embodiments shown may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. For instance, other materials may be substituted for the glass wool utilized in the tower de-entraining sections. Also, as above mentioned, the specific coil configuration is immaterial. This invention is to be limited, therefore, only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a combination for cooling liquids, a hollow enclosure having an upper end section in communication with the surrounding atmosphere, a liquid de-entraining, air-permeable section defining a lower peripheral wall portion of said enclosure and comprising a uniform continuation of said upper end section, spray means disposed in said upper end section for spraying liquids in the direction of said air-permeable section, said liquids being broken into fine particles in the normal spraying operation, said spray means action inducing air to enter said enclosure upper end section, flow downwardly into said enclosure and out said air-permeable section, the distance between said spray means and said air-permeable section being suflicient to enable said liquid particles to partially evaporate because of contact with said air induced to enter said enclosure, whereby the temperature thereof is lowered, and fluid conduit means disposed in said enclosure in the path of said fluid particles, said conduit means being spaced a suflicient distance from said spray means whereby the temperature of said liquid particles is lower upon contacting said conduit means than the temperature at which emitted from said spray means.

2. The combination as recited in claim 1, in which said conduit means is composed of material having high thermal conductivity and is in a form presenting a large exposed surface area for contacting said liquid particles.

3. In a combination for cooling fluids, a hollow en closure having an upper end section in communication with the surrounding atmosphere, a liquid de-entraining, air-permeable section defining a lower peripheral wall portion of said enclosure and comprising a uniform continuation of said upper end section, spray means disposed in said upper end section for spraying liquids in the direction of said air-permeable section, said liquids being broken into fine particles in the normal spraying operation, said spray means action inducing air to enter said enclosure upper end section, flow downwardly into said enclosure and out said air-permeable section, the distance between said spray means and said air-permeable section being suflicient to enable said liquid particles to partially evaporate because of contact with said air induced to enter Said enclosure whereby the temperature thereof is lowered, basin means defining a lower end portion of said enclosure wherein cooled liquid particles may collect, and conduit means in communication with the enclosure exterior disposed in said basin means, such fluids to be cooled flowing through said conduit means in the normal course of operation.

4. The combination as recited in claim 3, in which a second fluid conduit having pump means interposed therein connects said basin means with said spray means whereby the sprayed fluids may be continuously recycled.

5. The cooling combination as recited in claim 1 in which said spray means are disposed substantially normal to said basin means and the included angle of the liquid sprays emerging from said spray means is between about 40-50 degrees.

6. The cooling combination as recited in claim 1 in which said spray means are disposed substantially normal to said basin means and the included angle of the liquid sprays emerging from said spray means does not exceed about degrees.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 852,543 Deckebach May 7, 1907 1,732,963 Burhorn Oct. 22, 1929 1,861,158 Hilger May 31, 1932 1,949,522 Williams Mar. 6, 1934 1,986,653 Wade Jan. 1, 1935 2,012,910 Hubbs Aug. 27, 1935 2,022,740 Rowell Dec. 3, 1935 2,088,962 Kleuckler Aug. 3, 1937 

